Chad’s News

The linked article explains some rights and responsibilities of credit card ownership.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

Due to the massive increase in the price of gasoline, the Internal Revenue Service has raised the standard mileage deduction. As of July 1st, it is $0.585 per mile instead of $0.505. The new rate applies to travel performed from July 1st to the end of the year. Note that the old rate still applies from January 1st to June 30th, 2008.

Link: http://www.irs.gov/…
(via The Consumerist)

This guy took advantage of the fact that when you set up an online brokerage account, the brokerage company will “test” your bank account by making a small deposit. So he wrote a script that opened thousands of accounts linked to a few bank accounts. He was able to collect about $50,000 before getting caught. Although illegal, this was absolutely ingenious. I’m a bit jealous I didn’t think of it first.

Link: http://blog.wired.com/…
(via digg)

Politicians have been fuming for years over the significant amount of sales tax lost to internet sales. Case law states that an internet business must have a physical presence in the state in order to be forced to collect sales tax for that state. In the case where the sales tax is not collected by the business, a use tax usually applies. But individual consumers rarely pay use taxes for internet purchases.

The state of New York believes it has found a loophole. Some online retailers, such as Amazon, have affiliate programs. If Chad’s News was an Amazon affiliate, for example, I would have special links on my site to Amazon products, and I’d receive a percentage of any sales made via someone clicking on those links. New York legislators contends that my (theoretical) status as an affiliate constitutes a physical presence, and (if I lived in New York) allows them to require Amazon to collect sales tax. It’s convoluted. Expect court challenges.

Link #1: http://www.internetnews.com/…
(via Slashdot)

Link #2: http://www.news.com/…

If you’re looking forward to your economic stimulus payout, The Consumerist has details on when your deposit/check should arrive.

Link: http://consumerist.com/…

When the US Internal Revenue Service first came out with e-filing, I was annoyed that you had to buy tax preparation software or pay for tax preparation in order to e-file. This is no longer the case. If your adjusted gross income is $54,000 or less, you can use a free e-filing service called Free File. The linked article has a list of services from which to choose—I’ve used the H&R Block TaxCut Free File for two years now, with no problems. Sure beats mailing in those returns. Note, however, that this only applies to federal taxes, and that you may get marketing emails from the service that you choose.

Link: http://www.irs.gov/…

Astute Chad’s News readers have heard about the US government’s economic stimulus plan. The linked article has the facts. Essentially, the law creates a one-time tax cut for the 2008 tax year (the cut is in the form of a tax credit). The credit will be estimated, based on your 2007 tax return, and will be distributed this May. Then, when you file your 2008 return, you’ll have to determine the actual credit amount. There is also a rebate calculator to determine how much you’ll receive—looks like mine will be $600.

Link: http://www.consumerismcommentary.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

A class action lawsuit has been brought against members of the DeBeers Group for inflating the price of diamonds. You can get part of the settlement if you belong to this group: “All persons located in the United States who purchased any diamond or diamond jewelry or other products containing gem diamonds for personal use and not for resale between January 1, 1994 and March 31, 2006.”

Link: https://diamondsclassaction.com/
(via The Consumerist)

A computer glitch in a Kmart credit card approval system, that approved anyone who applied, led to a riot. The thing I find most interesting, however, is that they considered the credit card to be “free money.”

Link: http://www.wisn.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

If you purchased a Seagate hard drive in the United States between March 22, 2001 and September 26, 2007, then you are part of a class-action settlement and can get useful stuff or money. Note that you have to have purchased the hard drive by itself—it doesn’t count if it came with a pre-built system.

Link: http://www.harddrive-settlement.com/…
(via engadget)

For the first time in 30 years, a Canadian dollar is worth more than a US dollar. The linked article looks at the pros and cons of a weak dollar, and it’s not necessarily as bad as one might think.

Link: http://www.csmonitor.com/…
(via digg)

The US treasury is redesigning the $100 bill again, this time with a nifty effect that will be difficult to counterfeit.

Thanks to Josh for this topic.

Link: http://www.foxnews.com/…